At the warping station in a cloth mill, yarn sheets are disposed upon a warp beam which is a large horizontal roll carried on its two protruding axle ends. Thereafter, the yarn is subject to several successive operations carried out at separate stations in the mill before being conveyed to the loom machine. The purpose of the warp beam is to allow the yarn to be wound and unwound at each station and to transport the yarn from one station to the next.
The diversity of the processing apparatus requires that the warp beam unwind at different levels of height and in transporting the warp beam it is often necessary to move along narrow passages between the machinery. Thus, it is necessary to have apparatus for handling and supporting the warp beam which is capable of raising and lowering the warp beam and of being highly maneuverable in narrow spaces. Since a full warp beam may weigh as much as 3,200 pounds, the wheeled support members must be of high structural strength to withstand such heavy loads daily.
Prior devices have been developed for handling and transporting warp beams such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,907 wherein two rolling supports for the two warp beam axle-ends are provided. This device includes a rather elaborate series of linkage mechanisms and a wormed axle for raising and lowering the warp beam.
Other devices have been developed for supporting large rolls of carpet and the like such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,702,139 and 3,638,817 wherein a pair of wheeled support members are provided for supporting the ends of an axle running through the center of the roll. However, it is doubtful that these support members provide the durability and structural strength that is necessary to handle and transport warp beams which weigh as much as 3,200 pounds.